Biography

Born: 19 January 1979 in London, England

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

Years Active: '00s, '10s

Quite possibly the key U.K. grime player — though he called his knotty, brittle style "eski" or "eskibeat" — producer and MC Wiley (born Richard Cowie) was a member of Pay as U Go Cartel and was later a founding member of Roll Deep Crew. Though he released a pair of strong albums during the 2000s, Treddin' on Thin Ice (XL, 2004) and Playtime Is Over (Big Dada, 2007), much of his best work as a producer trickled out as white-label vinyl releases and free downloads. He made a controversial...